


Fictober 2018

by thehaakun



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Overwatch (Video Game), 少女☆歌劇 レヴュー・スタァライト | Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight (Anime)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-07-23 15:38:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16161854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehaakun/pseuds/thehaakun
Summary: [F!Azurrin, D.Vamon, Kuromaya] (more to be added) Short prompts done for Fictober 2018.---(most recent -- Azurrin)





	1. "Can you feel this?" (Azurrin)

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters are designated with which pairing/quote to use! For fast reference:  
> Chapter 1: Azurrin (“Can you feel this?”)  
> Chapter 2: D.Vamon (“People like you have no imagination.”)  
> Chapter 3: Kuromaya ("How can I trust you?")  
> Chapter 4: Kuromaya ("Will that be all?")  
> Chapter 5: Azurrin ("Take what you need.")  
> Chapter 6: Azurrin (Shape of Water AU)  
> Chapter 7: Azurrin (Loyalty Pt. 2)  
> Chapter 8: Kuromaya ("How can I trust you?" Pt. 2)  
> Chapter 9: Azurrin (Courtesan!AU)  
> Chapter 10: Kuromaya (Vampire + Hunter AU)  
> Chapter 11: Azurrin (Kobayashi Maid Dragon!AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UHH OK I JUST REALIZED LIKE AN HOUR AGO THAT THERE'S FICTOBER ??? AND UHH SHIT LMAO I'M GONAN TRY AND DO IT AND WRITE SOMETHING EVERYDAY HERE WE GO LET'S PRAY FOR ME LMAO
> 
> based off of this list: http://barbex.tumblr.com/post/178393189908/a-list-of-prompts-for-october-write-something
> 
> I'll try and add more pairings/characters as we go on but for now it'll start with F!azurrin ^^'  
> OR IF YOU GUYS HAVE SUGGESTIONS LMAO I don't mind taking them now since it's fun to do prompts ;;

Corrin sits back against the pillows of her hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling as she heaves another big sigh.

She glances down at her right arm, immobile in its white cast.

Breaking her arm and then getting stuck at the hospital for a few days is definitely not the most exciting definition of ‘fun,’ in Corrin’s book, but there is one thing in particular at the hospital that she didn’t quite mind…

The door to her room opens, and Corrin’s heart does a little leap in her chest -- she winces when she hears her heartbeat monitor speed up, its little beeps sounding out a faster rhythm.

“Hello, Corrin,” says her doctor, glancing down at a clipboard in her hand as she shuts the door. “How are you today?”

“G-good!” Shit. Her voice sounds too high.

“That’s good,” Azura says mildly, coming around to stand at Corrin’s bedside, by her useless arm; she places her clipboard on a nearby side table as she says, “Your vitals seem fine, I just want to check the degrees of motion and feeling in your hand to make sure your arm’s healing correctly.”

“S-sure, y-yeah! Sounds good,” Corrin says; when she’d first been brought to the emergency room, she’d expected to get dumped into a generic, sterile, white hospital room and get treated by some wise, sagely old man kind of guy but instead she’d ended up meeting a doctor that looked like she’d just walked off the runway.

Azura glances at the heart monitor, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, do you have a history of high heart rate?”

“No, uh, I just,” Corrin says as Azura moves her hands over her arm’s cast and down to her hand. “Uh--”

“Ah, no, I understand,” Azura says, and Corrin really hopes to God that Azura doesn’t understand. “Don’t worry, nothing I’m going to do is going to hurt. You’ll be alright.”

Whew. Crisis averted. 

“R-right.” Corrin tries to relax against her pillows and to calm the beating of her heart as Azura carefully holds Corrin’s hand in both of her own.

“Can you feel this?” Azura asks, pinching lightly at the tip of Corrin’s pinky finger.

“Yeah.”

Azura methodically moves through the rest of Corrin’s fingers, pressing and squeezing at certain points to gauge Corrin’s reaction; she ends up moving Corrin’s fingers this way and that to test their mobility, and Corrin really hopes Azura doesn’t notice how sweaty her palm is, because that’s gross, and making the hot doctor think she’s gross is the last thing she wants.

“Ah, things look great,” Azura says, giving Corrin a warm smile, and Corrin really wants to punch her fist straight through the heart monitor as its beeps sound out a faster tempo.

Of course, Azura glances at it, eyebrows raised once more. “Are you sure you’re alright, Corrin?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, no worries, I’m just, uh, you know,” Corrin says, trying to think of a way to not tell her doctor that Cupid isn’t shooting a million arrows at her heart right now. “I’m, uh, well--”

“Are you nervous?”

Corrin balks at the question, but the telltale erratic leap of her heart gives it away.

Azura laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. “Oh, Corrin, there’s nothing to be nervous about. I don’t bite.”

“I-I know! I think you’re really nice!”

“Oh, thank you,” Azura says, her smile so kind that Corrin thinks her heart will flatline. She picks up her clipboard once more and glances down at it. “If you think I’m going to judge you for why you’re here, I’m not.”

Corrin’s face goes bright red. Of course the nurse would put the really, really, stupid reason why she was here on the clipboard, and of course Azura would read the notes.

“Um, well, actually, I can explain that,” Corrin says in a rush. “I was, uh, doing it for charity--”

“You tried to climb the tallest tree in the park for charity,” Azura says, eyebrows raised.

“Well, um--”

“The notes here say your friend brought you here and…” Azura flips to the next page. “Told us you tried to do this because there was a cat stuck at the top...”

Corrin shuts her mouth immediately and looks away, hoping that Azura won’t read the rest of the story.

“...Which ended up actually being a plastic garbage bag, and when the park ranger came by to reprimand you, you fell.”

A stupid reason to break her arm. Try and save a cat that ended up just being a stupid trash bag and then get frightened when a park ranger yells for you to come down. Corrin isn’t quite able to meet Azura’s eye.

“Well, Corrin,” Azura says as she leans over into Corrin’s line of sight. “I think that’s brave and sweet of you, to try and do that.”

Blinking, Corrin goes speechless for a second, for Azura’s smile is genuine and honest. “Oh...You really think so?”

“I do.” Azura goes and makes for the door then, clipboard in hand, with Corrin watching after her in a daze. “Anyway, Corrin, I’ll be back again later this evening to check up on you. Get some rest until then.”

As the door shuts behind Azura, Corrin presses a hand over her beating heart as she lies back against her pillows once more, a dumb smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! hopefully I can keep up with fictober I'm REALLY PRAYING I CAN LMAO


	2. “People like you have no imagination.” (D.Vamon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D.vamon chapter this time !! They were perfect for this prompt, and I'd love to write more of them someday ;;

“Yuna, you gotta come out and watch this,” Hana said, jerking a thumb at herself, a cunning smile on her face.

“Watch what?” Yuna glanced up from the computer console, a myriad of code on its screen rapidly scrolling past as she calibrated the specs on her meka.

“Come out with me to the hangar and I’ll show you.”

“Hana, please. I really have to finish tuning up--”

Hana leaned in close, clasping her hands together and jutting out her bottom lip, unleashing the most lethal move she had in her arsenal; the puppy-dog look, and Yuna almost instantaneously felt her will to resist shrivel up and die.

“Ugh, fine, but it better be quick.” Yuna stood up and followed Hana out of the meka room and into the wide, open hangar; Hana did a sharp wolf whistle, and after a moment, three soda cans were tossed to her from the upper floor, all in quick succession.

Yuna didn’t bother helping Hana catch them all, for Hana caught them all easily enough on her own, turning to Yuna with a clever grin.

Rolling her eyes, Yuna said, “What. You wanted to show me that you and Seung-hwa perfected how to be stupid?”

_ “I heard that!” _ came Seung-hwa’s voice from above, and Hana laughed.

“No, dummy. Look, c’mon. The cans are just part of the plan.”

Hana led them both to the edge of the hangar, and Yuna crossed her arms, bracing herself a little against the strong sea wind that blew over them. As she gazed out at the vast ocean before them, she saw, in her mind’s eye, their meka team blasting off into the skies, a rainbow of giant robots heading off to fight more robots.

A tug on her sleeve brought her back to reality, and Yuna turned to see Hana with a t-shirt bazooka launcher in her hand, its tip against her shoulder with the three soda cans placed precariously in her other hand.

“Yuna, fire off these cans for me,” Hana said cheerfully.

“You wanted to show me that soda cans explode when you toss them off the second floor and then launch them with a bazooka launcher?” Yuna let out an exasperated sigh. “Hana, for real--”

“I’m serious, Yuna! I bet you ten bucks that you can’t even do what I’m about to do.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“Just launch the cans for me, and you’ll see.”

“Fine, fine,” Yuna said; she wouldn’t admit it aloud, but she was curious to see what Hana had in mind.

As the two of them stood by the edge of the hangar, Yuna loaded the first can into the launcher and glanced over at Hana to see her wielding her signature pink gun, its tiny bunny keychain hanging from its end.

Yuna raised her eyebrows, but Hana shook her head, placing a finger against her lips.

“You’ll see, Yuna.”

“Hana, you’re  _ joking--” _

“I’m not.” Hana smirked, and then winked at her. “You’ll see.”

“There’s no way you can shoot all the cans before they hit the water.”

“People like you have no imagination, Yuna. You’re gonna owe me ten bucks,” Hana said, shrugging. “Shoot the cans in any direction. I bet you I can hit all of them.”

“This thing launches shit like, pretty far, Hana. It’ll be like shooting a needle in a haystack.”

Frowning, Hana stroked her chin. “That doesn’t sound like the right comparison--”

_ “Whatever, _ Hana. You’re gonna be the one to owe me ten bucks,” Yuna said under her breath, loading up the rest of the cans.

When she was finished, she glanced at Hana again -- who raised her eyebrows and tapped her foot, giving Yuna an impatient look before jerking her head at the direction of the open ocean before them.

“Fine, fine.” Yuna straightened up and without warning, shot off the first can.

She didn’t bother waiting to see if Hana was even ready -- she immediately shot the second can far off to their left, and then the last can she aimed downwards just past the edge of the hangar, straight at the ocean below.

Just as she fired the last can, she heard the telltale sound of two shots fired from Hana’s gun; Yuna had just barely taken her eyes off the last can speeding straight down into the ocean when she saw it explode in mid-air, fizz flying in all directions before the busted can hit the ocean’s surface. Then she glanced up to see in the distance, the other two cans in similar exploded states.

Yuna’s brain tried to process what had just happened in the span of two seconds.

Slowly turning and lowering the launcher, Yuna saw Hana standing smugly next to her, lips coming close to the end of the barrel of her gun before she blew on it, classic cowboy style.

“Got ‘em, Yuna.”

“...You really only used. Three shots.”

“Yep. I’m just  _ that _ good, babe.”

Yuna wordlessly put down the launcher and turned around, heading back inside the hangar.

“H-hey!  _ Y-Yuna!  _ You still owe me ten bucks!” Hana hurried after her.

“I’ll make you dinner,” Yuna said flatly as she stalked away, with Hana on her heels.

Yuna heard Hana let out an excited squeal. “Ooh, what kind of dinner?” Hana leaned in close to whisper in Yuna’s ear, “A candlelit one?”

Without a word, Yuna immediately crouched down and swung her leg backward -- knocking Hana over onto her knees. Straightening up and looking down at an astounded Hana, Yuna said, “Don’t push it, Song.”

“You still love me anyway, Lee.”

At that, Yuna couldn’t help but break face and smile, rolling her eyes and she continued her walk back to the meka room. “I really do.”


	3. “How can I trust you?” (Kuromaya)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oH JESUS i almost forgot fictober b/c i've been playing asscreed
> 
> but fictober is teaching me how to write concisely and build something up in a really short number of words -- this is such a great exercise tbh, it's really keeping me on my toes and i'm learning a lot about what I can and can't do lmao

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Claudine said under her breath.

“I’m afraid I’m not.” Maya stood behind Claudine, arms crossed as the two started out across the wide, deep, chasm ahead of them -- only crossable by the very old, very rickety, and very fragile-looking wooden rope bridge that spanned its length. “This is the only way to the next kingdom.”

“I need you to get me there  _ safely,” _ Claudine hissed, whipping around and scowling at Maya’s mild expression. “This doesn’t look safe at all!”

“It’s plenty safe. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

Claudine had half a mind to grab the sword that hung at her mercenary’s waist and impale her with it, but then she thought otherwise. Maya truly had gotten her  _ this _ far -- if Maya could somehow get her across roaring rapids and through maze-like caves and around deadly bandits, maybe she could make the leap of faith across this bridge.

But as Claudine clenched her fists and glanced back at the bridge, she took a very small step forward towards the edge of the chasm; fog and mist obscured the true depths of the chasm, but she didn’t doubt for a second that it would be a very, very, long fall.

“You’re really sure about this. There’s really no other way around this...thing,” Claudine said, gesturing at the shit bridge.

“I’m quite sure, Miss Saijo.” Maya met her gaze then, as if meaning to convey her intent. “This is why I wanted to drop the horse and have you change into better clothes.”

The night before, when they had come to rest at the town that sat near the border of the two kingdoms, Maya had instructed her to dump her very, very nice dress.

“That dress is worth more than anything you’ve probably ever earned,” Claudine had said that night, but Maya had ignored her complaint and tossed her a set of her own clothes -- tunic and breeches, with a suitable pair of boots and a belt to match. At the time, she’d blushed red, because putting on Maya’s clothes meant constantly having that mercenary’s scent with her -- and God be damned, despite Maya’s profession, the woman had an air of delicacy and nobility.

“Why drop the dress? I could’ve walked across with it on,” Claudine said back in the present.

Maya pointed across the bridge, to its opposite end, where yet another deep forest awaited them. “The dress will only slow us down in the forest.”

What Maya left unsaid cast a shiver down Claudine’s spine. As much as she wanted to complain, she also knew they didn’t have time to dawdle around.

She still remembered the night she’d met Maya. Haggard and panting, lugging a giant pack with her that carried what she’d managed to grab in the few precious minutes before she had to sprint away from the cries and shouts of a battle happening right outside her home.

The plan had gone awry. There’d been a traitor from within. Claudine and her family were meant to have more time.

A bitter thought crossed her mind, then. She herself had managed to get more time. Her parents however, had not.

...And then Maya. Mysterious mercenary that Claudine had only met the day before, the supposed ex-soldier only passing through; she had stopped and shielded Claudine from the rest of the assassins.

And now Maya was ferrying her across the entire kingdom to safety.

Claudine had wanted, more than once, to ask why Maya was doing all of this for her. Claudine had virtually nothing to her name now, as a wanted criminal. There was no way she could pay the mercenary for her work. Honestly, it would’ve been easier for Maya to rob her and then leave her penniless and with nothing than to go through this entire journey with her to a supposed sanctuary. That would’ve at least fetched Maya some coin.

Then there was the matter of Maya not turning her in, at all.

That question -- Claudine had been too afraid to ask.

As she looked out at the rope bridge, she bit her lip. Then she turned and looked into Maya’s expression; there was no humorous smile on her lips, and her lavender gaze was unwavering.

A split second thought shot into Claudine’s brain, and the blood in her heart ran cold.

What if Maya wanted her dead too, and was just looking for the perfect  _ accident? _

“How can I trust you?” Claudine whispered.

To her credit, Maya didn’t look away. She took a step closer, her lips slightly parted as she searched for her own answer.

“You can’t, Claudine,” Maya said softly. “You haven’t trusted me this entire time, and you have every right to, and I know nothing I say or do will truly convince you until I bring you to where you need to be.”

Claudine swallowed as Maya stood right in front of her, her face just inches away.

But Maya said nothing more; rather, she held her hand out.

Actions would always speak louder than words, and Claudine knew well enough now that Maya’s actions spoke volumes about who she was.

Claudine found herself pushing past her doubt, and she reached out and put her hand in Maya’s.

  
  



	4. “Will that be all?” (Kuromaya)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh shit fuck me i missed yesterday i'M GOING TO WRITE TWO TODAY I PUNCHED THIS OUT AS FAST AS I COULD LMAO
> 
> KNIGHT!AU KUROMAYA BECAUse i'm a sucker for knight aus and maya with sword

When Claudine had been told to pick a knight out of the absurdly long list of potential candidates, she’d given a dismissive wave of her hand. Pick whoever was the best out of all of them. That was Claudine’s only requirement -- she was the princess, so obviously only the best should be allowed to stand at her side. Anything less would be an insult to her pedigree and lineage; she’s a  _ Saijo, _ and the Saijo royal family deserved nothing less than the nation’s best, brightest, and finest.

So naturally, when sometime later her steward came bustling into her office and hastened to tell her of the name of her knight, she didn’t think twice about it. Tendou Maya? Claudine had no idea who that was, and nor did she care; if this Maya person was the best of them all, then fine. 

It was only later in her bedroom, when Claudine took the time to actually look at Maya’s credentials, does Claudine choke on her glass of water as she stared down at Maya’s rather  _ long _ list of accomplishments, deeds, and victories. The first thought that popped into Claudine’s mind is  _ that’s impossible, _ but then as she reviewed the extra pages that went along with Maya’s resume, her doubt slowly morphed into colossal disbelief. Royal generals, esteemed lords and ladies, even words from some choice commonfolk -- all provided rather lengthy words of praise and validation for Maya’s talents and abilities.

Calling for her steward, Claudine schedules a meeting with Maya the next day. She had to see this glorious hero herself, and truly judge Maya’s merits on her own. There was simply  _ no way _ someone could be  _ that _ good.

The next day, as she stood by her desk in her study, a glass of wine in her hand, Claudine traced her finger across Maya’s name inked neatly on the golden parchment. Tendou Maya.

Claudine admitted to herself that her name sounded nice. It would go well next to her own, when they would be announced at formal galas.

Just then, a knock on her door, and she heard her steward announce the arrival of her potential knight.

“Come in.” Claudine turned, poised and elegant as she stood tall and proud.

The door opened, and in stepped the people’s hero.

Claudine almost dropped her glass as her heart did an erratic jump in her chest.

_ Illegal. _ That was the first thought that popped into her head.  _ Impossible. _

For no one could possibly be  _ that _ pretty, on top of being that successful, that wonderful, that talented.

“Your Highness,” Maya said in a smooth voice -- Claudine had the split second impulse to ban Maya from ever speaking, for how could a person have a voice that lovely -- before she knelt before the royal princess, doing a flourish of her hand to toss her cape neatly behind her. “It is an honor to meet you, and I thank you for allowing me to intrude upon your presence.”

Dazed and breathless, Claudine struggled to figure out a response. “You’re Tendou Maya.”

Maya looked up at her, eyebrows raised. “I am, Your Highness.”

“You’re. You’re really her.”

Maya glanced around as if expecting to see someone else in the room, but she remained kneeling upon the floor as she answered slowly, “...I truly am, Princess.”

Claudine hastily placed her glass of wine on her desk, and then braced herself against it, leaning on it with one arm flat on the surface. Everything about Maya was overwhelming; her radiance, her brilliance, her regal air. All of it just screamed perfection, flawlessness, insurmountable grace.

Maya’s resume, Claudine thought briefly with a hint of humor, did Maya no justice. All of its pages would have never been able to prepare Claudine for the experience of meeting Maya in person.

“...Could you. Could you step out, for a moment.”

Maya slowly stood up, hand resting on the pommel of her sword. “...Will that be all, Your Highn--”

“No, no that’s not all,” Claudine said, waving a hand. “I. I just need a moment. Come back in ten minutes.”

“Are you alright? Should I call for your stewa--”

“No! No, I’m perfectly fine,” Claudine huffed, her face heating up the longer Maya stood there in all of her illegally beautiful grace. “I need you to just tone it down a little.”

Maya appeared more confused by the second, a furrow in her brow as she said, “I’m afraid I don’t understand, but I will do as you request. I will return in ten minutes, Your Highness.”

Claudine waved a hand as Maya bowed once more and turned; what Claudine missed, however, was the mischievous smile on Maya’s lips as Maya closed the door behind her.


	5. "Take what you need." (Azurrin)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **i'm sweating because i cheated on this one** and used a really old WIP that kind OF JUST BARELY relates to the plot but technically the first sentence she takes what she needs
> 
> but um it's inspired by ticcy's roadtrip au art  
> http://ticcytx.tumblr.com/post/162005124159/they-are-lost-from-that-random-modern-au-where

Corrin thanks the cashier and takes her iced tea and the other things she needs from the counter before tossing a few bills down and watching her partner in the corner of her eye.

Azura stands against the doorframe at the front of the convenience store, her finger tracing the rim of her own drink as she gazes out the window.

If Corrin thinks about it, she can’t really fathom or understand how this happened.

Somehow, someway, she and the most prettiest girl in school -- some would also add the most quiet girl in school -- ended up going on a roadtrip together during their summer vacation.

\---

By some bizarre coincidence, they ended up having all their classes together, and in a few, they sat next to each other. Things led to another and then they partnered up for a few projects, and Corrin found herself getting to know, a little, about her classmate.

She now knows that Azura likes strawberries, that her favorite time of day is dawn, that she likes to bite on the tip of her pen when she’s thinking. She knows that Azura likes the color white, that her favorite class is choir, and that she likes to hum to herself when she thinks no one’s listening.

She figured that out by carefully and stealthily following Azura during their lunch period to see her heading up to the rooftop on her own, where the elusive girl sat alone, her beautiful voice the only thing keeping her company.

Corrin has never told anyone this, but she knows enough about Azura to know that she prefers to be alone.

Which is why, as Corrin gets in the driver side of her beat up, hand-me-down car from her mother and puts the key in the ignition as Azura gets into the passenger seat, she wonders how this happened in the first place.

\---

It’d been towards the end of the year, as they finished their last partner project together.

“Whew, finally,” Corrin says, leaning back in her chair and stretching as Azura, next to her, leans in closer to the computer to re-read the final words on their presentation. “Last project -- complete!”

Azura nods, the barest hint of a smile on the corners of her lips. “You sound so relieved, Corrin.”

“I am! We’ve had so many projects together,” Corrin says, slumping back in her chair, and then abruptly sitting straight up again when she realizes how that sounds. “I mean, like! You’re a really incredible partner and you’re amazing and hardworking and I just, mean, like all the projects--”

Giggling, Azura covers her mouth with her hand. “I know, Corrin. It’s alright. We’ve accomplished a great deal of work these past few months.”

“At least summer vacation’s soon,” Corrin says, a bit red in the cheeks. “We’ll finally be free, Azura.”

Azura sits back in her own chair, her hands in her lap. “For a bit, until we have to come back for the next school year.”

As much as Corrin hates to admit it, Azura is right. Summer vacation only lasted so long, and then they’d be pulled back into hours and hours of homework and studying and essays and tests. The pressure of doing well, the looming fear of not getting good enough grades to get into college, the exhaustion that came from nights of working overtime to finish things.

“I wish...I wish we could just like, get away from all this,” Corrin says slowly. “Like, not think about school or anything, just…”

“...Just?” Azura says, tilting her head.

“I dunno, like I wish we could do that thing in movies where we get in a car and drive into the sunset, you know?”

Azura stares at her for a moment. “...What if we did?”

Corrin’s eyebrows shoot up into her bangs, and her heart beats a little faster. “What?”

“What if we did? This summer,” Azura says, her gaze on Corrin’s. “Let’s go somewhere.”

“...But where? Just us?”

Azura nods, and Corrin knows her well enough now to recognize when Azura’s dead set on doing something. “Just us. And we go where the road takes us.”

Corrin stares, speechless, and Azura seems to take that as hesitation, for she glances away.

“Sorry, I...we don’t--”

“Let’s do it!” Corrin blurts, reaching forward to hold Azura’s hand in her own. “Let’s do it, Azura.”

Azura looks at her, and they gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment. “Are...are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Corrin says. “We can take my car, and I have money saved up, we can go anywhere.”

Azura blinks, and then smiles. “So...it sounds like we’ll be partners, again, Corrin?”

Corrin grins back. “You bet.”


	6. Shape of Water AU (Azurrin)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i'm just giving up on prompts lmao and making up my own shit but anyway
> 
> shape of water azurrin au  
> azura gets herself a big water dragon demigod girlfriend lmao  
> ᵃⁿᵈ ᵇᵃⁿᵍˢ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᵈʳᵃᵍᵒⁿ ᵃˢˢ

“Alright, today, we’ve been assigned to clean…” Felicia trails off as she gazes at the whiteboard dictating their schedules for the day. When she finds both her name and Azura’s name, she groans, shoulders sagging in disappointment. “Ugh, it’s the _experimental_ lab.”

Azura shrugs; in sign language, she tells Felicia, _“It’s not that bad.”_

With an indignant huff, Felicia pouts at her friend. “Yes it is! It’s...murky and gross and humid in there all the time. I can’t stand it! And who knows what those scientists get up to in there…”

Azura shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she begins to push her cart of cleaning things out of their workroom and into the main hallway; Felicia, despite her groans of reluctance, follows right behind her, and the two join the rest of the crowds bustling about for the start of the night. Scientists spoke rapidly to each other, gesturing broadly as they vigorously thrust their clipboards of notes under each other’s noses. Overworked office employees sped about the building, delivering missives and notes to higher-ups. Then, said bosses barked out orders and attended meetings for secretive government contracts concerning the truth of monsters and where they fit in the world of men -- but for Azura and Felicia, two humble cleaners, all of this went by them as they went about their late night work shift.

As Azura and Felicia make their rounds through their usual rooms, picking up trash and wiping clean the mirrors in bathrooms, Azura hums to herself as Felicia talks to her about her day. That was one of the many things Azura liked about Felicia; she never had to sign back or reply to Felicia when they had their conversations, for her dear friend seemed content to simply ramble to her about the mundane adventures that were her life.

When they make it outside the large, sliding metal door locked by an electronic keypad, Azura turns to see Felicia giving her a look.

Azura tilts her head. _What?_

“...How about you clean it, and I’ll go take my fifteen minute break,” Felicia whispers behind her hand, scooting closer to the wall as a harried group of scientists rush by.

Azura rolls her eyes, but she acquiesces to Felicia’s puppy-dog stare. _“Fine. I’ll meet you at the next room we have to clean.”_

Felicia beams at her, and then cheerfully skips away with her cart as she whistles an offkey tune. The sight softens Azura’s heart for a moment, before she turns and straightens up, punching in the keypad code to unlock the door.

It rumbles open, and the grating sound shoots a shiver down her spine.

She would never admit it to Felicia, but she had to admit, the dimly lit room and its ever present extreme humidity always made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Once she’s inside, the door rumbles shut behind her. Azura thinks, not for the first time, of what she would do if something did happen to her -- she had no voice to scream with, and there were never any security cameras in the lab, so if something were to happen…

Azura shivers, pushing her cart to a corner of the room, underneath a yellow lamp swinging slowly above her. She just had to clean the room, then get out.

As she mops up the tiled floor, she can’t help but feel her gaze drawn to the pool in the middle of the room. A few days earlier, the men in suits had come by with a giant, locked tank; they’d rushed it into the lab, and then immediately shut the lab door right after. Then, Azura had seen multiple _big_ higher-ups stalking their way to the new ‘specimen.’ Whatever was in that pool, Azura knew, was more important than anything else in the facility.

Azura tries to give a wide berth around it.

Around the edges of the room are numbers of machines, some electrical, some not, and Azura has always tried not to think too much about what they might all possibly do.

To try and calm the beating of her heart, Azura begins to hum to herself, as she always does. She mops, to and fro, her little song to herself following the rhythm of her movement.

Her voice might be gone, but at least she could hum.

After a minute, Azura thinks of that little jazz movie she’d seen with Felicia and her sister the other day. She starts to hum the beginning of that jubilant tune, and does a little _tap_ of the tip of her shoe against the back of her heel on her other foot. Then, she does another little step, following the notes of her little song…

It’s only when she does half a circuit of the room, kind of mopping here and there along the way, does Azura turn and see something else in the usually-empty pool in the center of the room.

At first, she thinks she’s hallucinating.

Because whatever _thing_ it is, it peers up over the edge of the basin with wide, red eyes -- with slits for pupils, like a reptile’s. Then, the set of silver antlers -- horns? -- curving around the sides of its head and upwards, sharpness glinting off the antlers’ peaks. Silver hair, too, plastered wetly around its head and next to its pointed ears -- Azura vaguely thinks for a split second of _she,_ because whatever...she was, her face looked remarkably...human, despite her bizarre appearance.

They stare at each other for one beat more.

And it’s then that reality hits Azura like a truck, and her heart goes into overdrive -- she stumbles and presses herself back against the wall behind her, clutching her mop to her chest.

The monster’s eyes follow her movement, blinking owlishly back; Azura’s breath catches in her throat when she sees the monster rise a little out of the water, for there, around the monster’s neck -- a great collared chain binds her to the edge of the pool.

As long as Azura stood back, she would be safe.

Hands trembling, Azura hurriedly speed-mops the outer ring of the room, not daring to go any closer; the only noise in the room is the soft _clink_ of the chains as the monster shifts in the water to follow Azura as she makes her way around.

It’s only when Azura finishes her circuit and quickly shoves her mop back onto her cart does she hear it.

A rumbly, gravelly sound, but unmistakably, the sound of someone humming.

Turning as slowly as she dares, Azura once more meets the gaze of the monster in the water.

Azura’s heart pounds in her chest, because the monster once more lets out a rumbling, extremely offkey note. Then, she rises a little more out of the water, raising a black, clawed hand out and pointing at Azura.

 _"Hm. Hrm,”_ she says.

Azura, of course, has no idea what that means, and she stands there, eyes wide.

The monster frowns, then furrows its brow. She tries, once more, to hum something in that guttural, growling sound -- and Azura finally recognizes it.

The monster is trying to hum...that same jazz tune…

 _“Hm, hm!”_ She points again at Azura, with the _clink clink_ of the manacles binding her wrists.

_She wants me to hum. She wants me to hum the same song, again._

They both flinch when Azura’s phone vibrates in her pocket, and she quickly whips it out to see Felicia asking her where she is.

Part of her feels immediate relief that Felicia had unknowingly come to her rescue; Azura quickly grabs her cart and pushes it towards the exit, her hand shaking as she presses the button to open the door. She glances back in time to see the monster slinking back down into the water, only her eyes appearing above the surface, but Azura’s heart can’t help but twinge in her chest because she thinks the monster looks... _forlorn._

Even later, Azura doesn’t know completely why she does this, but just as the door begins to slide shut, Azura quickly signs to the monster through the closing gap --

_“I’ll be back tomorrow.”_

And she knows that the monster can’t possibly understand sign language, there’s no way she would understand -- but without a doubt, Azura most certainly sees the monster give her a little nod before sinking back underneath and into the water.

When she meets Felicia in the office room down the hallway, Felicia reprimands her for taking too long and then launches into her story about how some dingbat almost pushed her down the stairs, allowing Azura a moment to collect herself.

A part of her felt relief to be gone from the labroom. But unmistakably, a part of her felt drawn to it too, like she had to go back.

Something about the monster in the water. There was more to her than meets the eye.

There’s a reason the monster is here. Azura intended to figure out why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway i know it's more likely to make azura a siren in an au like this b/c why would you ever make azura mute lmao but...i really like making different dynamics of otps...also dragon corrin lmao


	7. Loyalty Pt. 2 (Azurrin)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me dropping all pretense of continuing fictober prompts and just writing whatever i want at this point
> 
> this chapter is a continuation of my Azurrin Week prompt for Loyalty (if you wanna read that one lmao)  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15950822/chapters/37272284  
> you don't have to, but basically knight!corrin + princess!azura lmao

“Don’t look so nervous, sweetie. You look amazing,” Mikoto said, standing proudly next to her daughter as the two stood in front of a full length mirror.

Even with the twinge of anxiety in her gut, Corrin did have to admit that her new military uniform, spotless and clean, did make her look pretty good. White, with gold accents for the buttons and shoulders, and then her signature indigo cape hanging down behind her. At her side, her parents had gifted her a new sheath for her sword, black with intricate gold decorations by the hilt and point. And with pristine boots at her feet and a neat black headband on her head, Corrin’s reflection showed her someone of stature and regality.

Or, at least, it would, if her expression weren’t so...anxious. The slight frown, the uncertainty in her red eyes mirrored back at her.

“Corrin, dear. Really, don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Mikoto, in her own formal white gown, gave a comforting pat to her shoulder.

“You say that, Mother,” Corrin said under her breath. “But I...I just...I dunno! I can’t help but be really nervous, I mean, it’s  _ them--” _

“The king and queen have known you since you were a baby, Corrin. You don’t have to be afraid of them,” Mikoto said with a chuckle. “And Azura--”

“--is a princess!” Corrin wrung her hands. “She’s...I mean, like we’re not kids anymore, Mother. She’s…” Trailing off, Corrin tried to find the right words, but failed. Azura is the  _ princess. _ She’s royalty, she’s probably courted by really handsome and beautiful suitors from all over the lands, she probably won’t want to spend a lot of time with someone like--

Mikoto sighed, shaking her head. “Corrin, you have to know. Azura was always so excited to get your letters. Replying to you was the first thing she did after she got one.”

That made Corrin go red in the face, because  _ true, _ she and Azura had exchanged letters for years, ever since Corrin had left the royal court for military training ten years ago. And though Corrin wouldn’t say it aloud, she too had to admit that each month when the courier would arrive to the academy, Corrin’s heart would always do a little jump when she would receive yet another letter from her childhood best friend. Then, later at night she’d find time alone in the library to eagerly read through Azura’s letter, written in Azura’s always neat and tidy cursive handwriting. It would always make Corrin wince a little, at how shoddy her scrawled handwriting looked next to Azura’s, but she’d eagerly write a letter in return and hand it back to the courier the next day.

Corrin glanced at the little wooden box sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. She’d kept every single one of Azura’s letters, and she’d guarded the box that contained them with her life.

Then she looked at her reflection again, reaching a hand up to touch the scar over her left eye.

For a moment, she heard the echoes of jeers and other children pushing her to the ground as she tearfully clutched her little box of letters to her chest. How they made fun of her, how they taunted her, how they always tried to push her just a little bit too far…

Then how they would laugh when Corrin would lose a little bit of control, and either her antlers or her tail would appear, or how her hands would flash into black claws. How they knew Corrin couldn’t -- wouldn’t -- do anything to them, in fear of retribution and punishment. Her place at the academy had been a tenuous one, for sure, as many had simply assumed it was her parents’ friendship with the king and queen that had gotten her into the prestigious, elite academy for knights and warriors. 

Only a few people -- her now dearest friends, Silas, Laslow, and Odin, and a few others -- had believed she’d gotten in by merit. They had been the ones to pick her up as she lay there, sniffling and trying to fight back her tears, one hand trying to stem the bleeding from the cut over her eye, the other still clutching the box of letters to her chest.

She hadn’t mentioned that episode in any of her letters to Azura. Even though she had allies now, friends who were unconcerned with her dragon half, her years at the academy had been rough...

“Mother,” Corrin said quietly. “Is this really a good idea though? To make me Azura’s knight? When I’m…” She gestured at herself, then at her mother. “You know there are people out there that still don’t…”

Sadness flickered across Mikoto’s face. “Treat manaketes with respect? Or tolerate them? Is that what you were going to say, Corrin?”

Corrin gives a helpless shrug. “I’m just wondering if doing this is a good idea,” she said, the words spilling out in a rush. “Won’t it make people angry? I think a lot of people probably want Azura to have a  _ human _ knight--”

_ “Corrin,” _ Mikoto said sharply, and Corrin quickly shut her mouth. “If anyone still doubts you after what you did, they can come speak to the king and queen personally about your appointment.”

Looking back at herself in the mirror, Corrin’s gaze flickered to her sword that hung at her hip.

_ Hero of the Gate. _ That’s the name they’d started to give her after she and her friends -- so few of them -- had defended the mountain passage that led from the lawless, bandit-filled canyons to their prospering kingdom. A ruthless man had united the ragtag groups of bandits together, and had led the charge; Corrin’s commanders had wrongly assumed the bandits’ army was going to attack from another canyon entrance days away from Corrin’s base, forcing Corrin and her team into action when Selena had sprinted back from a scouting foray with troubling news.

Even now, Corrin didn’t quite know how she and her friends had held the ‘gate’ for so long. When they’d ran out of arrows, Odin had used his knowledge in magic to cause a rockslide, crushing a majority of the invading bandit army -- that had been a miracle in and of itself. Then, after that, they had no time to celebrate their victory as Corrin and her friends had had no choice but to run into the fray, swords, axes, knives and daggers swinging to buy themselves enough time until reinforcements arrived.

And when reinforcements finally did, their commanders had found only two people left standing -- Corrin duking it out with the bandits’ leader. Then, amidst the chaos and destruction around them, Corrin had dealt the final blow, impaling her sword through the man’s chest before she herself collapsed to the ground, finally falling to the extremity of pain from her wounds after hours of fighting.

She’d awoken later to find the rest of her friends in similar, injured states; they would be alright, to her enormous relief, but they would all need time to recover. The healers and commanders updated her on what had occurred; she and her friends had essentially saved the southern province of their kingdom, protecting it from invasion. That news, apparently, had been forwarded to the king and queen -- and it was then they’d proclaimed that Corrin, hero and defender of their kingdom, would be the knight for the crown princess.

That had thrown Corrin for a loop. She’d thought for the longest time, after she completed her military service, she would become the emissary for her people to the royal court, like her parents. But that had been something that Corrin had pictured to be years away -- she had been content with serving in the military with her friends until the day would come when she would need to take over for her parents. And even then, Corrin had thought it would be years before she would see Azura again..

But now -- just ten years after she’d left the court, she would be returning to it a hero and a knight.

That felt like a little too much, in Corrin’s opinion.

And the thought of seeing Azura again, in person, after all these years…

“I’m just,” Corrin started slowly. “I don’t want to give the king and queen and Azura anymore trouble than they already have on their plate.” She raised a hand to stop Mikoto from interrupting, and she continued, “I know politically what it looks like to have a manakete knight next to the crown princess. I know that it’s meant to give us manaketes...a better place.”

Mikoto nodded in acknowledgement, but let Corrin go on.

“But in the same vein, aren’t you afraid that it might backfire?” Corrin whispered. “While our people might be happy, others might not be.”

“Unfortunately, Corrin, you’re beginning to see how court life really works,” Mikoto said with a sigh. “No decision pleases everyone, but I know at least for the king and queen, they’re actively making steps to further the status of our people. Even if it makes them a few enemies.”

“...So they’re really not going to...not go through with this,” Corrin said, lamely waving a hand at herself.

“I assure you, Corrin, I’ve spoken with the king and queen about this. They’re actually quite excited and eager to have you as Azura’s knight -- they trust no one more.”

Trust. Corrin felt a very large weight abruptly fall onto her shoulders.

“But I haven’t been to court in years! I-I don’t know how to be like, formal or, or, royal or something or all nice and fancy,” Corrin said, shoulders slumped. “What if I embarrass them or myself or--”

“Oh, sweetie,” Mikoto said, and she stepped forward to press a kiss to Corrin’s forehead. “You’ll be fine, really. Just be yourself.”

That sounded like the exact opposite of what she should do, because Corrin thought of herself as sometimes clumsy or impulsive or ignorant. And all the nobles of the kingdom would be there in all their fancy attire, and Corrin could already picture the smug smiles of scheming nobles as they see her fail at basic court etiquette. What a great way to prove to the world that Princess Azura deserved a manakete knight at her side.

“Now, Corrin, I’ve got to see if your father’s got the carriage ready, but until then, chin up and relax,” Mikoto said, placing a gentle hand on Corrin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, alright?”

“Al-alright, Mother.”

With a satisfied nod, Mikoto left the room, leaving Corrin with her own anxious reflection.

She stood there for a minute, gazing at herself.

Then she looked away, walking towards her box of letters. She slowly, and carefully, opened the latch, lifting up the lid before gently taking out Azura’s most recent letter to her.

Corrin delicately unfolded it, for the creases were worn from how many times she’d read the letter to herself. She’d gotten this letter after she’d heard her commanders tell her of her newfound knighthood, and that she would be journeying back to the capital.

With a trembling finger and a pounding heart, Corrin traced the last few words in Azura’s letter.

_ I can’t wait to see you again, my dearest Corrin. _

_ \-- Yours, Azura. _

“Yours,” Corrin whispered aloud to herself. This letter had been the one and only time Azura had ever signed her letter in such a way -- always before, she’d signed it simply  _ \-- Azura. _

Corrin’s heart beat faster in her chest. She would find out later that night what that word truly meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm probly gonna continue this in another prompt lmao but i've been thinking about this for so long like what if they don't see each other for years and then they see each other again ... also childhood best friends .. pl ea se. ..


	8. "How can I trust you?" Pt. 2 (Kuromaya)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> back at it with some kuromaya lmao 
> 
> this is kind of a continuation (vaguely) of "How can I trust you" because I'm all here for  
> 1\. sharing a bed out of necessity  
> 2\. kuromaya
> 
> also me with zero fucks given about prompts i really just like writing something each day lmao

Maya slams shut the door to the tiny cottage, teeth chattering as she violently shivers, almost dropping the few logs underneath her arm.

The biting winter storm had been more severe than she’d thought. Going outside for even a few minutes to get some more logs for the fire had almost done her in.

Maya turns to see Claudine curled up on the floor in front of the fire, snuggled deep in her bed roll; Claudine only casts a glance at her companion, her brow furrowed as she jerks her head at the fireplace.

That manages to draw out a huff of amusement from Maya, and she walks around Claudine to toss the few logs onto the fire, red flames eagerly licking upward and crackling as it clawed at its newfound fuel.

“Satisfied, Claudine?”

“Th-thank you, Maya,” Claudine says; she doesn’t quite meet Maya’s eye as Maya strips off her boots and tosses them by their packs next to the fireplace. “But…”

Maya glances up as she unhooks the sword at her waist. “But?”

“...We really have to share the bed roll.” Claudine says it more as a statement than a question.

“Believe me, my  _ lady, _ in weather like this, it’s best that we do that.” Maya carefully sets the sword down, and then strips off her coat and excess layers, leaving her with her tunic and trousers. “And I would gratefully prefer not to lose a few toes or fingers to frostbite.”

Jutting out her bottom lip, Claudine goes red in the face, and then she shoots the mercenary a scowl. “J-just don’t try anything stupid.”

“Of course,” Maya says smoothly, unperturbed.

But when Maya settles in next to Claudine, the two of them on their sides and facing each other,she holds out her arm, giving Claudine an expectant look.

“W-what do you want? Aren’t we close enough already?” Claudine huffs.

“The closer we are, the more body heat we’ll conserve, Claudine.” Maya’s face doesn’t have her telltale, clever smile; her lavender eyes betray no hint of comedy or humor.

Despite that, Claudine feels hesitation. She bites her lip, torn between definitely wanting to be closer to this beautiful mercenary and wanting to maintain what distance she could to protect her own heart.

“Claudine. Please. I promised I would get you to your destination safely, and this is but one way for me to do that,” Maya says, her voice resolute, her gaze unfaltering. “Allow me to keep you warm.”

Maya’s breath is warm on Claudine’s lips; their faces are just inches away from each other, and Claudine swallows, her heart doing a little jump. The heat rising to her face gives her away, and Claudine caves in, ducking her head and tucking it underneath Maya’s chin as she snuggles close, wrapping one arm around the mercenary’s torso.

“F-fine. D-don’t try anything,” Claudine says; as much as she hated to admit it, Maya was right. Cuddling closer and embracing Maya’s warmth, in addition to the fire at her back, made her feel remarkably safer and warmer, shielded and protected from the raging winter storm outside. At least Maya hadn’t asked her to sleep naked or something…

“Claudine,” Maya whispers softly, and Claudine stiffens a little. “You can relax. It’ll be harder to stay warm if you’re tense.”

That only gets Claudine to go even more rigid in Maya’s arms. “I-I know that! You don’t have to tell me.” But at the same time, Claudine strongly wonders what it would be like to press a kiss to Maya’s collarbone, outlined clearly against the fabric of her tunic…And then the few times along their journey she’d seen Maya strip off the rest of her clothes as she’d gone to bathe in a lake or a pond, and Claudine had just gotten the briefest glimpse of the toned muscles on Maya’s back…

Imagining Maya naked while cuddling very close to Maya is, Claudine realizes, a really, really, bad idea.

“What’s on your mind?” Maya asks at that moment, because of course she would ask that at such an opportune time.

“N-nothing. Just. Shut up and let me sleep.”

Maya doesn’t answer, to Claudine’s relief, and she finally lets herself drift off, listening to the crackle of the fire behind her…

At some point, when she’s right at the precipice of waking and dreaming, she hears Maya say quietly, “Thank you, Claudine.”

Claudine manages to mumble, “For what?”

“For trusting me.” There’s a certain kind of emotion in Maya’s voice, and something about the way Maya says those three words; it makes Claudine feel a certain way, and her heart lets down a few of its walls. To hear Maya like that -- vulnerable and honest…

“Thank you for protecting me. Through everything,” Claudine says in return, and she presses herself closer to her partner.

Just then, she feels Maya press a kiss to the top of her head, and she knows then that there’s no need to say anything more between them; they had tomorrow, anyway, and the day after that, and that.

Their journey would continue for a while longer. And Claudine would figure out her feelings along the way.


	9. Courtesan!AU (Azurrin)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i'm like half cheating if any of y'all have read Kushiel's dart this is ... pretty heavily referenced from that lmao 
> 
> but imagine ... really famous courtesan!azura and hero!corrin ...

Corrin tosses to and fro in her new bed, turning this way and that as she tries in vain to calm her nerves.

But after what feels like another useless half hour lying there, staring at her ceiling, or turning onto her side to stare at the wall, she buries her face in her hands and concedes, with a deep sigh, that trying to find sleep would be pointless.

So she gets up, and gets dressed for the day.

Her new room is relatively bare; her time in the military had taught her to carry little, so at most she has her single trunk in the corner by her empty dresser. Once she puts on a suitable tunic and trousers, she digs out the other pieces of her light armor, comforted by the familiar weight of her vambraces on her forearms. Then she hooks her sword to her belt, before getting the rest of her weapons that she hides among the folds of her clothes, and all that too brings Corrin a sense of comfort. Though she may have a new...appointment, at least her work uniform would remain the same.

She pauses for a moment, kneeling next to her trunk; she purses her lips as she carefully, and ever so gently, picks up a luminous blue stone tucked away into the corner of the trunk.

Corrin stares at it, wondering for the umpteenth time, if its original owner even remembered it, or even remembered giving it to her all those years ago…

Corrin shakes her head. No, probably not. She safely hides the stone away again underneath her clothes, and then stands up, dusting off the front of her tunic. Then she silently opens the door to her room, glancing around to see that the hallway is empty, save for the early morning beams of sunlight slanting in through the windows, casting a soft golden glow upon the ground.

She recalls, from yesterday, how to make it to the small courtyard in the middle of...her new charge’s home, and she breathes a sigh of relief as she tastes the cool morning air on her tongue. She makes her way to the center of the courtyard, her boots disturbing the small drops of dew on the grass beneath her, and she breathes in deeply, her heart beating soundly in her chest.

Corrin then takes position in the middle, unsheathing her sword and standing at position. Feet, shoulder width apart, her right foot leading, in coordination with her right hand gripping the hilt of her sword. Then, weight focused on the balls of her feet, knees slightly bent to spring quickly into action.

This. The drills. This was familiar, at least. It would help keep her mind off of...well. 

Her stone’s original owner.

Who is…

Her new charge.

\---

A week earlier, Corrin sits in a chair, her palms grossly sweaty, her face incredibly hot and red.

“You have an impressive resume, Corrin,” says the woman across from her, with a smile. “I’m surprised you’d want to take up an appointment like this.”

“Um,” Corrin says, her voice cracking. “I...It’s...Um…”

Next to her, her best friend Silas barks out a laugh and nudges Corrin with his elbow. “Corrin’s just shy! But she’s really interested in trying something new.  _ Right, _ Corrin?” He says the last two words with his teeth gritted, giving a tiny jerk of his head at the woman across from them as if to emphasize the thoughts Corrin was already thinking --  _ don’t fuck this up! _

“I-I y-yeah, yes, I’m like --  _ I mean -- _ I’d like to try something new,” Corrin says in a rush, and she desires nothing more in that moment than to smash her head into the woman’s desk and ascend into the afterlife.

“I see. But are you...not tired, of guarding people?” The woman asks, head tilted to the side as she glances at the parchment on her desk, detailing all of Corrin’s exploits.

Corrin forces herself, for a split second, to meet the woman’s golden gaze -- but it’s the equivalent of looking at the sun and Corrin has to immediately look away.

“N-not at all, ma’am,” Corrin says, shuffling her feet. “My, um, current occupation, isn’t...um--”

“Doesn’t leave Corrin much room for flexibility,” Silas cuts in. “Corrin’s interested in experiencing more things outside the royal castle.”

“Oh, I can quite understand,” the woman says. “I understand that the Queensguard doesn’t quite...get out much.”

“Exactly, my lady!” Silas says, beaming. “That’s exactly it.”

But then the lady leans back in her chair, her expression curious as she glances at Corrin. “I do travel quite often. But...did the war not wear you out? I heard your...experiences on the front required a good deal of travel.”

Silas nudges Corrin once more, and Corrin forcibly swallows back her nervousness. “I-I did travel a lot, my lady. But, um, the two years I’ve spent guarding the queen has been...more than enough time for me to recover.” She shuffles her feet again, still not quite able to meet the woman’s gaze. “And I haven’t seen much other than the borderlands and the royal city.”

“I see. That brings me a good deal of relief that you’re still interested in traveling, then,” the woman says with another friendly smile. “But I do have...a serious question to pose to you, Corrin.”

At that, Corrin snaps her gaze up, and her heart pounds loudly in her chest. “Y-yes, my lady?”

The woman’s expression is so gentle, Corrin almost melts right there. “Corrin, I...Are you really willing to give up a position by the queen’s side to be at my own?”

“Yes,” Corrin says immediately, without thinking. It’s what she’s wanted since...all those years ago. “I would do anyth--” She  _ immediately _ slaps a hand over her own mouth, throwing her gaze to the ground and wishing hell would open up beneath her and take her right then and there.

“Corrin’s very excited at the opportunity to be the guard of the most well-respected courtesan in the city,” Silas says quickly, trying to recover for his best friend. “It would be an even higher honor, to her, to be at your side, my lady.”

The woman chuckles. “I can’t see any higher honor than the queen herself personally choosing you to be in her honor guard, but I’m flattered, all the same.”

A soft knock on the door marked the time for Silas and Corrin to take their leave, and Corrin has to stop herself from breathing a sigh of relief. She makes to stand, both she and her friend offering deep bows to their hostess, and then the two turn to make for the door--

Until Silas nudges her again, and says loudly, “Oh, wasn’t there something else you wanted to ask, Corrin?”

The lady, standing behind her desk, raises her eyebrows. “I’m open to whatever questions you have.”

Corrin can hear her pulse pounding in her ears, and she wants nothing more than to run around the woman’s desk and hurl herself straight out the window. She feels, in that small pocket in her armor, the weight of that luminous blue stone.

She almost asks, then. The question hangs  _ just _ on the tip of her tongue.

But instead she blurts, “N-no, my lady.” She whips around and drops to another bow, but almost slams her head into the chair and clumsily jerks herself to the side in time. “U-um, thank you for meeting with me and offering me your time, my lady. Haveagooddaythankyou again--!”

Corrin then turns on her heel, grabs Silas’ arm, throws open the door, and almost collides into one of the woman’s servants carrying a tray of tea.

“S-sorry!” Corrin says, voice an octave higher, and then she hurries herself and Silas as quickly out of the building as she can.

The servant glances at Corrin’s fast-retreating back as Silas gives her indignant  _ hey’s! _ Then he turns to his master, eyebrows raised.

“Lady Azura, I assume that interview was…?”

Azura chuckles, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “It was interesting, to say the least, Jakob.”

“I just can’t believe she’d really give up a position in the Queensguard,” Jakob sniffs. When Azura shoots him a look, he hastily backtracks. “N-not that serving you is terrible or anything, my lady. I just mean--”

“Oh, I know, Jakob,” Azura says teasingly, sitting back down in her chair and once more picking up the parchment before her. “I’m surprised too that the Hero of Valla would truly want to give that up, as well. It makes me curious.”

Jakob sets down a teacup before his master, elegantly pouring hot tea for her. “So why exactly is she giving it all up?”

“I’m not quite sure,” Azura muses. “But I must say, out of everyone I’ve interviewed today, Lady Corrin is the one with the most impressive resume. And she’s the only one who didn’t inflate her exploits.”

“Humble, then?”

“...She strikes me as...more shy, actually.”

“Well, she struck me as a bit clumsy,” Jakob says haughtily, straightening up. “She almost made me spill your tea.”

Azura laughs, then. “Oh, Jakob, you never change. But truly.” She picks up her cup of tea, blowing gently on it to cool it. “I think I quite like Lady Corrin.”

\---

Back in the present, Corrin tries hard not to think of how she and Silas had immediately hit the pub right after the interview so Corrin could sink her grief at her own stupidity in several tankards of beer, with Silas trying in vain to give her comforting pats on the back and multiple  _ I’m sure it wasn’t that bad! _ kinds of phrases. The only kind of relief Corrin had was that Azura most certainly did  _ not _ remember their first meeting from years ago -- but that thought too brought a little heartache to her chest, and when she told Silas as much, he gave her a look of sympathy before patting her on the back again.

“Things will be alright, Corrin.” That’s what Silas had said, and Corrin, too deep in her sorrow and woes and half drowning in a tankard of beer, had blown him off.

And yet, somehow, Silas had been right.

Here Corrin was, a week later, as Lady Azura’s first, and only, professional guard.

She’d heard the whispers among the nobility, of why the Hero of Valla may have wanted to be protector and guardian of the nation’s most renowned and respected courtesan. She’d heard several unsavory rumors that had made her gut wrench, but through it all, the Queen herself had eagerly approved her transition, too, citing her friendship with Azura as her primary motivation. It made Corrin wonder just how many friends in high places Azura had…Or...lovers…

Corrin swings her sword diagonally, imagining how it would cut from the enemy’s right shoulder to their left hip. Then, she quickly side steps at the same time, following the movements she’d learned so long ago.

Can’t think about Azura’s...occupation, right now.

Just. Had to get through her drills.

She dodges backward, left foot behind her as she avoids an enemy counterattack. Then, she darts forward, right foot planted firmly in the ground as she thrusts her sword ahead, into the enemy’s side.

The movements are familiar. She’s done them one too many times.

She follows through several more movesets, practicing all that her mentor had taught her, and soon enough, physical exertion takes Corrin’s mind off her worries.

At some point, when the angle of the sun casts light across a quarter of the courtyard, Corrin strips off her tunic, leaving her chest bare aside from her usual bandeau. Breathing hard, Corrin sheathes her sword and places it lightly against the courtyard wall before moving back to center position.

There, she practices her punches and kicks, crossing her vambraces when necessary to shield herself from a blow. She pictures smashing an enemy’s nose in with the heel of her palm, then she quickly dips low to the ground to swing her leg around, knocking an enemy over onto their knees. Without missing a beat, Corrin straightens up, jerking her knee upward into an enemy’s stomach, before slamming both her fists down on her imaginary opponent’s back.

Once she finishes that round of hand to hand combat, Corrin bends over, hands on her knees, panting, a sheen of sweat on her skin. That had been satisfying; the workout had the adrenaline rushing through her veins, waking her and keeping her alert.

Straightening up, Corrin goes to the courtyard wall where she’d left her sword and tunic, and using her tunic as a makeshift towel, she begins to wipe off the sweat on her face and neck as she heads to the courtyard entrance--

And immediately stops in her tracks when she sees someone standing there.

“C-Corrin,” Azura says, cheeks red. “I--that was impressive. Y-you’re very impressive.”

Reality collides into Corrin just then.

“Y-you were watching?” Corrin says, voice cracking, two octaves higher than usual.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spy on you like that,” Azura says in a rush; now the tables have turned. “When you were practicing with your sword, I just couldn’t help but watch -- and, oh! I brought you this, too!” Azura holds out a waterskin, taking a step closer to Corrin. “I figured you might be, um, thirsty, after...all of that.”

“Oh.” That’s as much as Corrin can say, given her brain had been shot to oblivion. It takes her a solid five seconds to take the waterskin, because her arms feel weighed down with lead from the soul crushing realization that Azura had seen  _ all _ of that. “...Thank you, Lady Azura.”

Taking deep swigs out of the waterskin, Corrin lets out a deep breath after she finishes drinking her fill, not noticing that the red of Azura’s cheeks have only deepened as she stands there, staring.

“I, ah, I’ll go clean up, my lady,” Corrin says, not meeting Azura’s eye as she tosses her sweat-stained tunic over her shoulder and hands back the waterskin.

“O-of course!” Azura says, and she watches Corrin walk down the hallway -- and then she abruptly remembers to call out, “W-would you join me for breakfast, Corrin?”

That gets Corrin to stop in her tracks, and she turns to see Azura standing there, golden sunlight illuminating the white of her dress and the shine of her eyes, and Corrin swears that she’s looking straight at a goddess.

“Y-yes, my lady,” Corrin finds herself saying with a bow, and then she turns and leaves, dazed and breathless.

Along the same vein, Azura stands there, watching Corrin go, her breath caught in her throat and her mind in a haze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't really wanna end it here but i feel like i've written a lot today i'll probly write the second part later lmao


	10. Vampire + Hunter AU (Kuromaya)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dfhgkjsdfg wow i'm definitely not gonna make fictober at this rate BUT I'M GOING TO TRY LMAO 
> 
> in the halloween spirit, have some Vampire!Maya + Hunter!Claudine AU, with oblivious dumb trusting Karen tossed in a little bit lmao

Claudine slowly, but carefully, slides open the window, braced to hear the telltale scraping or jarring that might give her away.

But instead, to her surprise, it smoothly and silently gives way.

_ Hm. Vampire keeps her castle tidy, it seems. _

As quiet as a mouse, Claudine ducks through the window and drops to the floor, crouching and squinting as her eyes adjust to the dimness within. Moonlight slants in through the rest of the windows along the long hallway, and in the shadows, Claudine can just make out the rows of metal armor lining the walls, poised and polished, with great tapestries hanging in between each. The walls, done in masterful masonry, also appear free of dust and cobwebs, all things that Claudine usually expects when entering the domain of the supernatural.

When she straightens up and slides the window shut, she gets a glimpse of herself reflected in the glass. Black trench coat with silver buttons, neatly matched by black boots with steel buckles and black trousers, contrasted by the long sleeve white shirt tucked neatly into the belt at her waist. Claudine raises a hand towards the the inside pocket of her coat, reassured that her pistol remained safely tucked at her side; then, she places her hand on the pommel of the sword hanging at her hip, gold hilt reflecting a little bit of the white moonlight cast down upon her from above. A quick tap of her wrists reassures her that her hidden daggers are there too, and then she does another cursory check of her coat pockets to make sure all of her other equipment for hunting is there. She gives a single nod to herself when she’s sure she has everything she needs, before she quickly sets off down the hallway -- a hallway filled with extravagance and elegance.

_ Tch. She’s fancy, too. _

Despite that thought, Claudine is grateful that the sound of her boots are silently muffled against the rug that lines the hallway, and she keeps one hand on the pommel of her sword at her waist as she quickly makes her way down the hallway. She pauses, at the end, her back against the wall next to the entrance to another passageway; after a quick glance around the corner and a cursory check to make sure it’s safe, she quickly turns the corner and makes her way through the rest of the vampire’s castle.

To her chagrin, the rest of the hallways remain eerily empty and devoid of life -- that brings her a mental chuckle, because of course,  _ vampire _ \-- and the few rooms she manages to peep into through the keyhole also appear empty. She finds the vampire’s greenhouse, the vampire’s library, the vampire’s dining room, and she swears she thinks she finds some kind of  _ theater _ room, too, all done up in the same extravagance as everything else in the damn castle, but all lacking the person she wanted to find most.

_ Where in the seven hells is that fucking vampire? _

At one point, she looks through a keyhole and finds what looks like a study, in combination with a lab -- but the thing that catches her attention is at the opposite end of the room, of someone lying comatose on an altar…

_ There! _

First, she tests the door handle, because she’ll probably have to lockpick -- but then the handle easily turns under her hand, and Claudine is once more caught by surprise. Wouldn’t the vampire want to lock the room that contained her prey?

No matter. Claudine had a job.

She carefully pries the door open just a bit and cautiously peeks inside for a moment; when she finds no one else and nothing else aside from the numerous tables and desks lining the walls, all covered with contraptions and glass beakers and other scientific equipment, she takes a step inside, silently closing the door behind her.

Then she makes her way to the end of the room, hand on her sword’s pommel. When she reaches the altar, she realizes --

_ Wait...this isn’t an altar. This is...a cot. _

Claudine leans over the woman lying in the makeshift cot, and in the dimness of several candelabras on the wall, breathes a sigh of relief at seeing that the woman is indeed still breathing in her deep slumber. The telltale hair, orange with that signature crown pin -- this woman is indeed the person Claudine’s looking for.

_ But why is Karen alive? The villagers said she’d disappeared -- she’s supposed to be dead… _

Confusion flits across Claudine’s expression. She glances over to a nearby desk, and finds a number of papers across its surface; cautiously stepping over, Claudine bends over with a curious eye. She finds neat, cursive handwriting inked across all the parchments, but her breath catches in her throat when she finds that  _ all _ are…

_Thyme, marigold, sage...These are all types of healing herbs._ _All these papers -- they’re tests!_

Claudine picks up one parchment after another, heart racing in her chest. At the bottom of each, the vampire had written notes. 

_ Condition improving, but still unstable. Woman awoke for an hour, still dazed, but maintained memory of me, at least. Woman able to stand up and walk around, but reached fast fatigue within a few minutes. Pulse remains stable throughout the day, but fever remains high -- need to investigate further. _

None of this made sense. Claudine lets out a shaky exhale, running a hand through her hair, her thoughts askew.

_ But...I thought the vampire was the one who caused the village plague. Now she’s trying to cure--?! _

“For a hunter, you’re quite bad at noticing when someone’s following you.”

Claudine’s heart jumps to her throat, and she whips around, hand already flying to the dagger hidden in her sleeve--

The vampire stands at the opposite end of the room, just in front of the door, and Claudine has just one second to gauge and seize up her opponent before their battle begins.

A woman. Brunette. Silver hair clips in her bangs -- ironic, given her status as a vampire. Dark navy trench coat, similar to Claudine’s own, but with accents of violet on the lapel and gold along the cuffs and edges. Then, the elegant navy vest over the white shirt, and the black pants with boots.

Truly regal, Claudine would have thought, if she’d had any time to think, because it’s the glistening rapier in the vampire’s hand that makes Claudine’s adrenaline spiral into overdrive.

Claudine’s dagger lands straight into the door, embedding itself in its wooden surface -- the vampire had easily dodged it, and Claudine knows she has just seconds as she watches the vampire turn into a blur, heading straight for her --

She unsheathes her sword and throws up her guard just as the vampire’s sword collides into her own, bright sparks flying up from the contact.

“Not bad, I must say,” the vampire says, and Claudine grits her teeth as her arm trembles with the effort to keep the monster at bay. “Not bad at all.”

So Claudine abruptly dodges backward, throwing her foot up and planting it straight into the vampire’s chest, kicking her backward -- it buys her time to whip out the dagger in her other hand, and she throws it once more at her target --

That one lands, and the vampire hisses as she staggers backward, the dagger embedded in her forearm.

“So that’s how you want to play,” the vampire says with a huff, and she straightens up, a flash of competition in her lavender eyes as she tears the dagger out and tosses it aside.

Claudine says nothing, her feet braced, her sword held in front of her -- she uses her other arm to shield the woman lying behind her. Somehow, someway, she’d get Karen out of here.

The vampires takes her position again, and once more, the two of them enter a lethal dance, blades swinging and clanging throughout the lab -- more than once, Claudine collides into one of the tables, and she has to drastically grab a glass or a beaker behind her and smash it into the oncoming vampire.

So the vampire had a comment about that too, after the fifth time getting covered in surprisingly nonlethal chemicals. “I would greatly prefer if you would not smash my things, please.”

“Less talking, more fighting,” Claudine hisses, and she once more throws herself into the fray.

“Oh? So you  _ can  _ speak.” The vampire sounds almost  _ amused, _ despite their intense battle.

It annoys Claudine, a good deal, that the vampire didn’t seem to be taking their fight so seriously -- why else would she be talking the entire time?  _ Damn annoying monster.  _

Her scowl only becomes more pronounced as their battle draws out, but Claudine knows she’s getting pushed to her limits when she once more slams into a bookshelf against the wall, panting hard with exertion as the vampire once more repels her attacks; her sword weighs heavily in her hand, and a sheen of sweat covers her forehead.

“Had enough?” the vampire asks, doing a quick flourish of her sword. Her expression seems almost unreadable -- and though Claudine knows the vampire can take advantage of her momentary break, the vampire doesn’t. Instead, it’s as if...the vampire’s studying her too…

“Not quite,” Claudine says through gritted teeth. “Bring it on.”

“So be it.”

Claudine manages to draw the battle out for another few minutes, albeit it consists more of her trying to dodge the vampire’s oncoming attacks and going on the full defensive; guarding with her blade wasn’t cutting it anymore, not with how strong her opponent was, how each hit sent her almost reeling backward from the pure force, her boots skidding across the tiled floor.

With Claudine momentarily caught off guard, the vampire easily, with a flick of her wrist, sends Claudine’s sword flying to the opposite end of the room before she lifts a foot and lands a brutal kick to Claudine’s defenseless chest, sending her backward and into the wall; and now, trapped and cornered, Claudine looks up in time to see the vampire looking down at her with an intense gaze.

“It’s over for you, hunter.”

_ Not quite. _

Just as the vampire’s blade comes to rest at the side of Claudine’s neck, the end of Claudine’s pistol rests just underneath the vampire’s chin.

With a single  _ click, _ Claudine flicks off the safety, tilting the barrel even more threateningly against the vampire’s skin.

The two of them stare at each other for a beat longer, both breathing heavily from their fight.

“Clever, hunter. You really did have another trick up your...coat.”

Claudine’s breath catches in her throat when the vampire takes a step closer to her, the two almost chest to chest -- this close, she can see the vampire’s fangs, lethal and sharp on her upper row of teeth.

Her finger comes  _ very _ close to pulling the trigger, but a split second thought pops into her mind -- the vampire’s parchments about trying to heal Karen...

That moment of hesitation -- it’s more than enough.

“You’re clever,” the vampire says softly. “But not clever enough.”

Claudine opens her mouth to answer but then, abruptly, a sharp stinging pain hits her thigh and she looks down in time to see the vampire’s other hand delicately taking away a syringe from her leg.

_ “You--”  _ Claudine hisses as she jerks the barrel of the gun against the vampire’s chin, but then she staggers, her vision suddenly blurring, vertigo slamming into her brain. “Y-you…”

She drops her pistol, and the vampire catches her as she falls forward; Claudine can’t help but grasp the vampire’s coat for support, and she manages to look up in time to see the vampire’s expression.

Apologetic, almost.

But then extreme fatigue hits every part of Claudine’s body, and she blacks out.

\---

Claudine awakens sometime later, in a windowless room. It takes her a moment to gather her dulled senses, and she hisses with pain when she tries to move her head. Whatever drug the vampire had injected her with definitely felt like getting punched by a hundred cyclops -- and Claudine grits her teeth as she tries to get a sense of her bearings. Given a few minutes, she manages to piece together a few observations of her surroundings.

First, the only light in the room as a lamp sitting next to her on a nighstand. It hurts her eyes too much to look at it, so Claudine avoids looking at it for too long. With what little light she has, and with what few senses she has, she realizes that she’s sitting against the headboard of a very, very nice queen-sized bed -- with her arms tied by rope to the bedposts.

_ Son of a bitch! She drugs me and now she ties me to a bed! What kind of sick shit is this! _

Claudine tugs, futilely, against her bindings; the rope chafes her wrists, and Claudine gives an impatient huff of breath through her teeth when she realizes she won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Glancing down at herself, she realizes too that the vampire had stripped her of her coat and boots, leaving her only with her white shirt, the collar popped up and unbuttoned. The pockets of her trousers, too, were empty -- and with a growl of frustration, Claudine realizes the vampire had essentially taken everything she’d owned.

The only relief she gets in those few minutes is that her neck feels fine -- no sign the vampire had fed on her, at least...

A cursory glance of the room reveals little to her; aside from the bed and nightstand and a chair next to her bed, the room was sparse of other furnishings. The door was directly opposite her, but without anyway to get out of her bindings…

Claudine doesn’t know how long she sits there and fumes, but eventually there’s a quiet knock on her door.

And in steps the vampire.

Claudine gives her a fierce scowl. “What do you want, vampire? Why did you tie me to your bed?”

“It’s not my bed,” the vampire says smoothly, and she carries with her a tray of fruit; she sets it down on the nightstand, next to the lamp, before settling herself into the chair next to the bed. “I also simply thought you might be more comfortable on a bed than chained to a wall. Unless you enjoy that kind of thing.”

The vampire’s subtle smile makes Claudine’s face, unwillingly, go red.

“Smooth talking me won’t get you anywhere,” Claudine says, hating that she feels the blush on her cheeks -- because God be damned, she has to admit the vampire isn’t all that bad looking either.

“Worth a try,” the vampire says with a nonchalant shrug. “I hope you’re comfortable, at least.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

The vampire stares at her for a moment, seemingly unconcerned with Claudine’s spitting insult.

“May I ask what your name is, hunter? I don’t want to keep calling you ‘hunter.’”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“...Understandable,” the vampire says quietly, and the way she looks away makes Claudine feel a split second shot of regret, before it immediately vanishes as the vampire pulls a paper out of the pocket of her coat and says, “But according to the hunter license found in your things, your name is Claudine Saijo.”

Claudine says nothing, her fists clenched, her wrists chafing against the rope binding her to the bedposts.

“Well, my name is Maya,” the vampire says casually, placing Claudine’s hunter license on the nightstand too. “I just want to talk to you.”

“Again, go fuck yourself.”

That manages to draw out a chuckle from Maya. “I heard you the first time.”

“Then go do it.”

Maya gives a huff of amusement. “...It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to banter with someone. Thank you, for the entertainment.”

“I’m not here to entertain you,  _ Maya,” _ Claudine says through gritted teeth. “If this is the reason you wanted to imprison me, then I’d prefer to die.”

“I don’t think you’re quite in any position to make any demands of me, Claudine,” Maya says, and she does a cursory glance over the entirety of Claudine’s body, her wrists bound to the bedposts, her back against the headboard of the bed. “And I have to admit, you cut quite the figure.”

Again, Claudine feels her cheeks heat up. Of all the times for a  _ vampire _ to hit on her, it’s when she’s tied up in the vampire’s bed.

_ “What. _ Do you want,” Claudine says stiffly.

Maya looks at her again, studying her for a moment. “I’ve simply heard a lot about you, Miss Claudine.”

“Then you know what I’m capable of,” Claudine hisses.

“You’ve hunted quite a good deal of...beasts.” Maya looks carefully into Claudine’s face, as if...searching for something. “You’ve established quite the name among the commonfolk.”

“Because I  _ protect  _ people, unlike you.” A spark of fierceness alights in Claudine’s heart. Hunting monsters, ridding the world of fear and terror -- that was Claudine’s primary goal as a hunter. Where darkness was, Claudine brought light. “I’ll hunt as many monsters as necessary if it means saving lives.”

“...So is that why you didn’t shoot me?”

A chill shoots down Claudine’s spine.

“What?”

“Is that why you didn’t shoot me?” Maya repeats, her gaze unwavering. “You could have, you know.”

“So that you could’ve chopped my head off? I’m not that stupid,” Claudine says, but Maya immediately voices the fallacy in her logic.

“I may be fast, but we both know a bullet can move a thousand times faster than I can swing a blade, Claudine.” 

Claudine looks away, unable to meet Maya’s gaze.

“What did you think of my tests?” Maya asks quietly after a minute, and Claudine can tell from the corner of her eye that Maya’s leaning forward in her chair, closer to the bed. “I know you read them.”

Unwilling to give anymore ground, Claudine says nothing, choosing instead to stare at the wall.

“...I assume the villagers down in the valley hired you to come after me,” Maya continues, in that same, soft, quiet voice. “They wanted to find Karen.”

“They thought she was dead,” Claudine says bluntly; but she still doesn’t meet Maya’s eyes. “Her friends told me she disappeared after she visited a church, and then she never came back.”

“She went to the church to pray for a miracle,” Maya says, and that much at least gets Claudine to look around again. “When I asked her if...she would help me find a cure, she said yes.”

_ “But why?” _ Claudine asks, and this time she was the one searching for answers in Maya’s expression. “You’re the one who caused the plague--”

_ “I did not,” _ Maya said sharply, and the barest hint of a fierce scowl crosses her face. “I was not the one who did that.”

“Then--”

“If I knew, I would have told you and Karen already,” Maya cuts her off. “Right now, my priority is finding a cure.”

Claudine unconsciously pulls at her bindings as she too leans towards Maya. “But  _ why? _ Why are you trying to find a cure? Why are you helping  _ humans?” _

Maya too comes closer to Claudine, their faces just a foot apart. “...Because I protect people too, Claudine. You’re not the only one who wants to save lives.”

With her thoughts askew, Claudine struggles to find a reply. “I-I don’t understand--”

“You forget. Vampires were once human too. I haven’t forgotten my humanity,” Maya says, a strong fierceness in her voice. “I don’t expect you to believe me, Claudine, but that’s the truth.”

Maya then snaps her fingers, and the ropes at Claudine’s wrists fall away; with wide eyes, as she rubs her wrists, Claudine gazes at Maya in a newfound light.

“I still can’t permit you to leave, but for now, at least,” Maya says, pointing at the tray of fruit. “You are my guest here, Claudine. Please make yourself comfortable.”

As Maya stands up to leave, Claudine blurts out, “Wait.”

Maya glances behind her, eyebrows raised.

“...I may not have shot you,” she whispers. “But why did you keep  _ me  _ alive?”

Maya turns around fully then, and the two of them study each other one more -- lavender eyes meeting red ones, the both of them trying to understand each other just a little bit more, human and vampire both seeking to find a common ground.

“Because I felt like it was the right thing to do, to take a chance on you,” Maya says finally. She turns away. “Get some rest, Claudine.”

Maya leaves, and Claudine hears the telltale sound of a lock turning in the door.

She sits there on the bed for a few more minutes, massaging her wrists as she stares at the foot of her bed, her brow furrowed, her mind a tumult of thoughts and hypotheses and theories.

After a few minutes, she sighs, leaning her head back and tapping it against the wall as she looked up at the ceiling; she blindly reached down for an apple on the tray, casually biting into it as she thinks about Maya, and all she’d learned today.

Maya had taken a chance on her, for some bizarre reason.

But even more strangely…

Claudine can’t help but feel like she should take a chance on Maya too.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd love to continue this idea too someday...can you imagine cursed giraffe causes giant plague across valley lmao  
> but also...vampire!Maya and hunter!Claudine teaming up...or even...claudine letting maya get a bite of her if you know what i mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	11. Maid Dragon!AU (Azurrin)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kobayashi maid dragon azurrin AU LMAO because i'm just reaching for all the shitpost AUs now  
> i think it'd be a really cute AU...also I just love Azura having a dragon girlfriend lmao  
> and camilla as lucoa ?? leo as fafnir ?? elise as kanna ? (or even...kana as kanna...azura and corrin's adopted child lmao)

The blaring  _ beep beep _ of her alarm jolts her awake, and Azura heaves a tired sigh as her hand fumbles in the darkness before finally slapping down on top of the snooze button.

She lays there in bed for a moment longer, her hand falling off the nightstand and hanging off the side as she stares at the ceiling in the dimness. Her brain still feels so  _ fuzzy _ \-- God damn, she’d drank way too much last night.

Pressing a hand to her head, Azura dimly recalls the night before -- it’d been a mistake to go out drinking with Hinoka and Ryoma. Those two could bloody consume the entire bar, and almost drank the entirety of Hinata’s stock -- their boisterous laughs and bright grins had only egged her on, and eventually she’d caved in and had a few drinks…Well, a ‘few,’ might have turned out to be ‘a lot’...

Some other vague details float to the forefront of Azura’s mind as she sluggishly gets ready for work, like something about stopping in a forest park on the way home for a minute to help out a bizarre stranger wearing some dragon costume, or the loud  _ boom _ she’d heard during the night…

Repressing a yawn with her hand, Azura picks up her work bag and leaves her room, making for the front door. Well, whatever had happened last night at least she’d gotten herself home in one piece. Now to see if she could just make it work in one piece without her head exploding…

\---

She manages to down a few painkillers at work before settling down at her desk for the day, but when her coworker, Laslow, stops by, he laughs.

“Wow, you look like you just came straight out of the dumpster,” Laslow says, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye.

“Quiet, you,” Azura says under her breath. Squinting at the brightness of her laptop’s screen, she presses a hand to her throbbing head. It doesn’t help that she sits by the window in their open office space; why did the sun have to be that  _ bright?  _ “Ryoma and Hinoka are devils in human’s clothing, I swear.”

“Well, at least that means you had a bangin’ time last night,” Laslow says, bending over to take a look at Azura’s work. 

“...That’s one way to put it,” Azura says, with the strangest feeling that she’s forgetting something; when she glances out the glass windows that cover the entire wall, she sees nothing but the skyline of the city’s skyscrapers stretching out before her. Yet, still, she had the nagging feeling that something was amiss…

“Anyway, Azura, you called me over to look at your design for somethin’?” Laslow asks.

“Ah, yes,” Azura says, focusing back on her work. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you about this part in particular…”

\---

The pain in her skull gradually decreases throughout the day, and with a sigh of relief, Azura heads home. Laslow invites her out to the bar with himself and Odin and Selena, to which she politely declines -- the two of them burst out laughing at her disgruntled expression, telling her they’ll save her a drink or two if she wanted to come by their usual bar hangout. Selana had rolled her eyes, but she’d waved a hand at Azura, telling her to go home and get rest while she dealt with the two idiots.

That much brought a smile to Azura’s face, and she headed home in a lighter mood than the morning.

When she enters her apartment and tosses her work bag onto her couch, she claps a hand to her forehead.

“Of course! I forgot to get my laundry from outside.”

She heads towards the sliding glass doors leading out to her balcony, reaching a hand up to pull aside the curtain and the door--

But just as she does, she looks up and her heart stops in her chest.

For there, in the doorway, accompanied by the evening breeze and casually squished inside her tiny balcony -- was a  _ massive _ dragon.

Azura doesn’t believe what she’s seeing, for a split second. The pointed silver antlers, curving around its head and then angling upward -- the indigo faceplate above an unhinged-like jaw, shielding a faceless expression that somehow eyes her with a deep intensity. Then, the rest of the armored plating down its long neck and onto its body, attached to four legs with sharp, black claws reminiscent of curled hands; then, its underbelly was the same color as its armored face, and Azura doesn’t miss the folded, giant wings tucked neatly against its body.

It’s a lot to take in at once.

All Azura can do is stare back, frozen like a deer in headlights.

There’s no nostrils on the dragon to speak of, but Azura nonetheless feels the dragon give a little huff, its warm breath of air fanning across her face.

That, at least, manages to startle Azura’s brain into action.

It’s. A real. Live. Dragon.

A dragon. On her balcony.

It speaks first.

“I found you,” it rumbles; but there’s a feminine sound to its voice, something about it that strikes Azura as...familiar. “I  _ found _ you, Azura.”

Azura doesn’t know what to do. If she tries to take her phone out of her pocket, the dragon might kill her. But even if she managed to call the police, what could they possibly do against a ten foot tall armored  _ dragon? _ But she doesn’t want to get eaten either, but she can’t possibly  _ outrun _ the damn beast, and it knows her name! It’ll probably just find her again--

A large, silver glyph suddenly appears in the air in front of the dragon, and Azura jumps back in shock as she sees runes rotating within the glyph before a there’s a sudden burst of bright blue flame--

Azura throws up an arm to shield herself, but when she finally manages to draw up an ounce of bravery, she lowers her arm to see…

A girl. Her age. Silver-blonde hair. The titular antlers curving around the side of her head. A tail, poking out behind her, wagging this way and that. All while...wearing...a very, very, nice black suit, slacks and blazer and vest and tie and all.

“Azura!” she says cheerfully, dashing forward; Azura hurriedly stumbles backward, her back hitting the kitchen counter as the girl leans in close to her, happiness in every inch of her expression. “I found you!”

Shock had rendered Azura speechless, but she finally manages to find her voice just enough to blurt out,  _ “What is going on?!” _

\---

Her name is Corrin, apparently.

And she had been that weird stranger in the park last night. And she hadn’t been wearing a dragon costume. And apparently…

“You saved me, Azura!” Corrin says with a happy grin, sitting across from Azura at the tiny dining table. “I was impaled by a sword, but you took it out!”

Azura presses both her hands to her head, elbows on the table as she tries to process everything Corrin’s telling her. She can just barely recall last night, of heading home and seeing  _ something _ huge in the bushes in the park...Dumb curiosity had spurred her forward, and she vaguely recalls tossing some sword into the bushes and then drunkenly talking to Corrin for some time about…

“And then you asked me if I had anywhere to go, and I said no, so you told me I should just come to you when I felt better,” Corrin says, bouncing up and down in her seat. “And here I am!”

“...What else did I tell you?” Azura says, voice barely above a whisper. Her idiot past self had promised a  _ dragon _ to come home to her?!

Corrin taps a finger against her chin. “Um...Oh! You told me you wished you had a girlfriend, so guys would stop hitting on you at the bar.” Then, the dragon perks up and she points at herself. “So I’ll be your girlfriend!”

“W-wait,  _ what--” _

“And you said you loved women in suits, so!” Corrin beams at Azura, all smiles and joy at finding the person who saved her. “Here I am, Azura! I can be your girlfriend! I’ll protect you!”

Corrin’s tail wags rapidly behind her as she eagerly awaits Azura’s response -- but all Azura can do is sink her face further into her hands, shame and regret pooling up in her gut. Dumb, stupid, drunk self had made false promises and now here she was, sitting across from some all powerful godlike dragon that believed herself to be...her girlfriend.

“Um. Corrin. I…” Azura starts, trying to find the right words to describe all the impossible feelings bottled up inside her. “I...I think you have the wrong idea.”

Now Azura can’t help the pang of regret when she sees hurt flash across Corrin’s expression.

“W-what do you mean?” Corrin asks, her red eyes pleading. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, you, um, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Azura says. “It’s just...I...You can’t be my girlfriend.”

Azura feels a sucker punch to her gut when she sees devastation appear on Corrin’s face. 

“I...Azura, please! I...I may not know what a girlfriend really is but I can protect you! I swear!” Tears well up in Corrin’s eyes, and Azura can’t help but look away. “Please give me a chance,” Corrin says, her bottom lip wobbling a little.

But what really caught Azura’s attention was one specific phrase in particular. “...You...You don’t know what a girlfriend is.”

“...No! But I can learn!” Corrin says, leaning forward in her chair, hands anxiously clasped in her lap. “I don’t know a lot about humans other than how to fight a bunch of them at once but I can learn about what a girlfriend is!”

Azura pinches the bridge of her nose, breathing in deeply as she tries to steady herself. She’d most definitely invited Corrin to stay at her apartment, and she’d most definitely said she’d wanted a girlfriend, and she most definitely knew for sure that she disliked it when men hit on her without even a hint of reciprocated interest. And...Corrin, in that suit…

Azura bit her lip. Corrin didn’t look all that bad, even with the dragon parts...

Then she makes the mistake of glancing at Corrin again, because Corrin’s pulled out all stops with the most devastating puppy-dog face, and Azura feels her will crumble apart. 

“...Okay, okay, look,” Azura says, and already a plan forms in her mind of how to keep the dragon complacent and happy. “...You can stay with me, and in the meantime, let’s...talk about how you’ll live here with me.”

Corrin’s mood does a complete one eighty and she immediately whips back to the most joyful, happy expression and to Azura’s shock, Corrin tosses the table aside before darting forward and grasping Azura in a tight hug.

“I’m so excited! Thank you for giving me a chance! I won’t let you down, Azura, I swear!” Corrin says, arms wrapped tightly around Azura’s torso.

All Azura can do in that second is suffocate in Corrin’s tight embrace, an she taps Corrin’s shoulder and wheezes, “Okay, Corrin, not so tight--”

“Ah! S-sorry, I just see humans do that a lot when they’re happy, so I thought--” Corrin drops Azura and immediately jumps back, anxiously tugging at the front of her blazer. “I’m sorry! I won’t do it again.”

“It’s alright, you’ll...figure things out. Let’s start with…”

It’s bizarre, having to show a godlike creature the mundane actions of turning on the TV, using a cellphone, the microwave, or a computer, but Corrin, true to her word, picks it all up pretty quickly. Most importantly, Corrin seems to enjoy it all, glowing with pride whenever Azura compliments her on succeeding at a simple task like how to do the laundry or how to wash the dishes or on how to get the mail. These aren’t all quite ‘girlfriend,’ things, but the way Corrin hugs her -- more gently, of course -- and with that little contented nuzzle against her cheek...

It makes Azura think for a moment, as she sees Corrin excitedly buzzing through a dozen shows on Netflix, that maybe having a dragon companion won’t be as bad as she thought...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it'd be so cute to continue this but tbh i think it's nice to just leave it up to the imagination of azura standing up to anankos and saying corrin deserves to be happy in the human world lmao  
> thanks for reading!!


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